RCAAP Repository

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Cotard’s syndrome is a rare neuropsychiatric condition. It is a syndrome characterized by the presence of mood‐congruent nihilistic delusions. The aim of the present paper is to review literature evidence concerning Cotard’s syndrome and to describe a clinical case. Data were obtained from clinical records and bibliographic research on PubMed.We present the case of a 68‐year‐old woman with Cotard’s syndrome, in the context of a depressive disorder, to illustrate both how impairing the condition can be and how a course of effective, individualized therapy can improve outcome. Re‐ garding treatment, the combination of antipsychotics and antidepressants is often used, but if this shows no improvement, electroconvulsive therapy is suggested. There is a need for greater awareness of this syndrome, to ensure better and faster identification and treatment of patients.

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe eating disorder. Although Wernicke’s encephalopathy (WE) is frequently associated with alcohol abuse, non-alcoholic WE has been described in AN associated with malnutrition and refeeding syndrome. This work aims to present a case report of non-alcoholic WE associated with AN. A 27-year-old woman diagnosed with AN was admitted to the hospital for a low weight of 33 kg and body mass index of 12.9 kg/m2. The patient started a nutritional plan, and two weeks after, she presented a sudden onset of psychomotor slowing, disorganized behaviour, nocturnal enuresis and the need for feeding support. On evaluation, she also had a defect in attention and memory with confabulation. Due to the diagnostic hypothesis of metabolic encephalopathy, the patient started thiamine with progressive clinical improvement.AN carries a lethal risk associated with severe nutritional deficits and medical complications, so careful surveillance, assessment and early intervention are required.

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Since the beginning of the 20th century, several authors have found that people with severe mental illness (SMI) have higher rates of chronic medical illnesses and mortality in relation to the general population. With this work, we intended to perform a narrative review concerning the particularities of somatic disease and mortality in people with SMI, disparities in access to healthcare and interventions to be carried out in this population. The literature is consensual in the recognition that people with SMI have higher rates of chronic medical illnesses and premature mortality, which leads to an average life expectancy 10 to 30 years lower than the general population. Suicide does not explain these differences. People with SMI are especially affected by cardiovascular, metabolic and neoplastic diseases. Although these diseases are also highly prevalent in the general population, their impact is significantly greater in individuals with mental illness. If part of this discrepancy can be attributed to functional limitations directly caused by SMI, it is recognized that discrimination and stigma also play an important role in these inequalities. People with SMI have worse access to healthcare, leading to high rates of underdiagnosis and undertreatment. There are few studies in the literature aimed at interventions or programs that can decrease the inequality of health care in this population. The particularities of the expression of somatic disease in people with SMI lack adapted prevention strategies at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels that should be prioritized in clinical research and integrated into national health programs.

Eating disorders are incapacitating, mortal, and can come with high costs for society. Despite the great impact, there are very few available alternatives, psychopharmacology is used off-label, and cognitive behavioral therapy is indicated as first‐line treatment.The aim of this work is to revise the scientific evidence regarding therapeutic strategies for binge eating disorders. This disorder can be seen as a coping mechanism for negative internal experiences, such as thoughts, painful emotions, or uncontrollable urges. Besides these characteristics, studies have also shown the importance of shame and self- -criticism in eating disorders.There are several therapeutic interventions available, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), improved CBT, interpersonal psychotherapy, CBT third generations technics, and psychopharmacology. All of them approach the disorder in different angles. Therefore, it is important for the clinics to know about the differences between them, so they can offer a more individualized intervention.

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Embora contendo alguma reflexão pessoal, este trabalho destina-se essencialmente a dar uma imagem da discussão e da investigação actuais sobre a utilização educativa das novas tecnologias. Começaremos por apresentar aspectos de duas discussões públicas sobre o valor educativo das novas tecnologias. Em seguida procura-se pôr ao corrente de resultados de alguma da investigação mais recente, de âmbito internacional, sobre a utilização educativa das novas tecnologias, na qual retomarei alguns pontos da discussão anterior. Depois enuncia- se o que nos parecem ser algumas linhas essenciais de uma estratégia de implementação das novas tecnologias nas nossas escolas, de acordo com o imperativo de democratizar o acesso. Por fim voltaremos aos resultados da investigação, mas desta vez de âmbito nacional, e terminaremos com uma reflexão de conjunto.

The study presented here is part of a longitudinal study (Viana, 1998), in which the predictive validity is analysed (in terms of future reading performance) of a test for the identification of linguistic competencies (Viana, 1998, 1999). It includes a sub-scale designed to evaluate the child's capacity that reflects upon the language he uses, i.e., his level of linguistic awareness. It is the bibliographic research underlying the elaboration of this sub-scale which is here reported, accompanied by a brief conceptual clarification, taking into account the sub-scale's utilisation as an independent contribution in arder to obtain data capable of orienting a diversified teaching approach to the initiation to reading and writing.

This study was conducted to show how children's reading comprehension abilities are related to their abilities to produce written texts. Such a relationship was established in a group of 452 Venezuelan ninth graders, between 14 and 16 years of age, using a factorial analysis. From the results we can conclude that, (1) a close relationship between these abilities doesn't appear to exist, as it is commonly assumed; (2) a clear relationship between reading and writing abilities doesn't exist, at least considering those selected for this particular study; (3) students' sex didn't affect the relationship, males and females performed similarly; (4) socio-economic status slightly affected the relationship and (5) students' reading performance did affect the relationship, specially at the lower leveis.

This study investigates how one can affect the literacy acquisition of immigrant minority children in Portugal by modifying the attitudes and practices of their families towards the quantity and quality of literacy events, and by increasing their cultural references. Using the case study research methodology two samples composed oflow SES primary grade students, respectively from African and from Indian origin, were selected. Each sample was divided into the test and the contrai group. ln addition to obtaining important differences between the minorities, it was possible to acknowledge that parental influence in the literacy development of the children seems to be a powerful resource to be used in reducing the high rate of failure which currently affects these minority students.

Cooperative learning is a working methodology used in the classroom in order to ease the integration of ali the students involved. This methodology, which has direct effects in emotional, social and academic leveis, organizes the teaching/learning process in small heterogeneous groups in which ali members share tasks and responsibilities. For this they receive specific training in areas such as cooperation and communication, considered essential for successful group relations. Based on the theoretical postulates that sustain this methodology, the aim of the present study was to conceive and test a plan that would help the students to increase their skills in peer interaction within the classroom. This study also describes how to introduce a group of students to co-operative learning.

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